Aithusa
by peskychesk
Summary: Series 4 episode 4 told from Aithusa's perspective. One-shot.


**Season 4 episode 4 'Aithusa' from Aithusa's point of view.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or its characters (no matter how I wish it otherwise)**

* * *

Curled and suspended in an unknown space it waited. For how long it did not know, nor did it much care. All it knew was that its time was approaching.

_HE was coming._

It had long forgotten the feel of another's presence, outside of the wind which gusted around nearby and a warmth which often came and went without reason. The last real presence it vaguely recalled was of at the least the right species, though it lacked the feel of kin. And so it waited, knowing one day it would get its reward.

* * *

_HE COMES!_

It could feel it. The call of kin, the bond of blood, that presence it intrinsically knew, instinctively sought, coming closer and closer. There were others but they were of no matter. It was to be free! And so it awaited the one who would liberate it.

It was only now as sound was heard that it realised that the silence had been its sole companion for so, so long. And though the thought was fleeting, it was gathered and stored as a memory to be brooded over. And later missed.

And suddenly HE was there; so near and coming still closer. Its heart leapt and its blood sang crying out to its kin to be set loose. And yet no sooner had it felt the warmth brush by, it was swiftly removed, as another being appeared to distract and demand:

"Give it to me" The voice made it recoil; it rasped and encompassed lust and greed and pride, and mediocrity.

"It's not yours to take." It wrapped itself in the voice its kin; the voice of strength and selflessness and goodness. The voice which embodied everything that was righteous and truly powerful.

"You give it to me and I will grant you a half-share, Merlin."

_Merlin_

So that was its kin's name. A fitting name. Though it was sure other names also belonged to Merlin. What name would Merlin give it?

'_What gender am I?'_ it thought. Male it decided; it felt right.

"No, it must go free." His spirit soared with the word 'free'. Soon, very soon, he would be _free_!

"Don't be a fool. Think of the power it will bring us, the lands we can rule over, the riches."

"I'm not interested in that."

The next words had him bristling in anger: "With this dragon at our command, we will live like kings. We will have the freedom and power to do as we wish."

"Dragons cannot be used like that!" Merlin roared, and he wanted to roar along with him, "They must be left unshackled, free to roam the earth."

"But this is your chance, Merlin. Your chance to escape your meaningless life, your worthless existence."

_Meaningless? Worthless?_ This…, this, _cretin_ was daring to call his kin these things. This creature dared presume it knew anything of value and had any right to judge others. When he was free this 'man' had better watch his back.

"It's not my life that's pitiable; it's yours. You've wasted it for nothing."

"I pieced together the triskelion. I found the path that led us here. The dragon belongs to me! Now hand it over!"

This wrathful outburst was rebuffed with a single softly spoken word: "No."

"You are not gonna stop me, boy!"

Merlin's voice rose and power spun through the air, "Dragons are magical creatures. They belong to no man, they are for the benefit of all." Well, all but this mortal, who dared so demand things he had no stake in.

"What do you know? Huh? You are but a serving boy!"

Merlin was not just a serving boy- whatever that may be. His kin was so much more than that he knew.

"I am the last Dragonlord. And I am warning you…leave this egg alone."

This veiled threat was followed by a scuffle and a blast of power, then silence. With this he felt the warmth once more settle around him and he was jostled as his container was moved. Then a great rumbling could be heard and the crashes of things colliding reverberated around his prison, and suddenly he was being bashed around as the noise increased. For sometime it was this way, until the noise began to quiet and finally disappear, and silence became his companion. But this time there was the reassuring warmth of Merlin near at hand, to remind him that he was no longer alone.

* * *

"What the hell happened?" the voice made him perk up and listen. This new voice felt like Merlin, but at the same time almost mirror like to him.

"The tomb was a trap. He set it off. He never got out." _Ha!_ he thought, serves him right too.

"What about the egg?" Was that what he currently was?

"It would have perished with him." he frowned at Merlin's obvious lie. But he trusted him and he was sure Merlin had a reason for it.

"Are you sure? We need to be certain."

A third voice- this one he felt nothing special from- observed: "Nothing's going to survive under all that."

* * *

"Shame about the egg." This new voice carried an undertone of amusement to it.

"Yes."

"You weren't able to save it?"

"No."

A large pause.

Merlin's voice broke the silence, filled with joy and pride, "All the jewels, all the treasures, Gaius, they don't compare."

He felt his container shift once again as the warmth of Merlin cocooned him, before another warmth- one with power much weaker than Merlin's- but still gentle, held him.

The old voice, Gaius he presumed, replied, "And it was nearly lost because of you."

"I'm sorry, Gaius. I was too quick to act." Merlin sounded chastised.

"You have to think things through." Gaius' voice held a tone of soft rebuke, "Ashkanar did exactly that. He had the foresight to conceal this for more than four hundred years. And now it's down to you, Merlin." his 'egg' was pressed once more towards Merlin, "For you to decide what you intend to do with it."

"I've thought about that. I'm going to make sure it goes back to where it belongs." And one word flared in his mind: _F__ree!_

* * *

Again with the jostling (it was getting rather tiresome), before his 'egg' as they called it was set down somewhere once again. Time passed, and suddenly a great whooshing noise, not unlike a heartbeat, resounded, getting louder and louder, until the 'egg' vibrated with it. It was accompanied by an aura, a feeling, of familiarity, of alikeness. The whooshing sound ceased quite abruptly. The sensation of another being like him did not. It grew yet stronger.

Merlin spoke, "Is it still alive?"

He snorted indignantly, of course he was still alive.

The voice that answered, was the sound which, until it spoke, he did not know he craved. The voice, which resonated with true kin-that of blood, soul and _body_- was filled with such quiet, empathic joy (and its own small note of indignation), "It can live for more than a thousand years."

"So you are no longer the last of your kind."

The voice chuckled, "it would seem not."

"When will it hatch?" _hatch?_, he thought, _what was that?_

"Young dragons were called into the world by the Dragonlords. Only they had the power to summon them from the egg." A dragon, yes that title did seem fitting. So he felt such a tie to Merlin because he was a Dragonlord - whatever that was- and would be able to free him from this 'egg' prison. The voice continued, "As the last Dragonlord, this solemn duty falls to you, Merlin." _At last!_ The time to be free was upon him.

"How do I summon it?" _Yes. How my kin?_

"You must give the dragon a name." Ooh, he liked that idea. No more referring to himself as...him, he supposed. He waited for both his name and his freedom.

"_Aithusa_."

And like a rope snapping, Aithusa surged forward, his progress coming to a sudden halt as his head collided with the hard surface which had always encased him. But unlike in the past he now found it yielded to him, as a crack appeared, and with renewed energy he coiled his neck back and struck again. This time a section pushed outward and with another nudge his snout broke through. With a gurgle his head followed it into the outside world and immediately his senses were assailed with sights, sounds and smells a plenty. He blinked upwards and his eyes found a huge figure towering over him, which was the source of the aura of true kin. _Another dragon_, Aithusa thought. _So one day I will be like that._ The dragon began to speak again:

"A white dragon is indeed a rare thing." Grumbling as the casing which confined him impeded his progress, Aithusa curled his right front paw over the edge of the hole he had created and applied pressure, hoping to destroy his cell of so many years faster. "And fitting. For in the dragon tongue, you named him after the light of the sun." When piece did crumble away he went about pushing and knocking parts of the egg away to fall discarded on the ground around the stump on which he was perched.

"No dragon birth is without meaning. Sometimes the meaning is hard to see, but this time I believe it is clear." Aithusa shook his shoulders, trying to stretch his wings, as more of the 'egg' fell away under his efforts.

"The white dragon bodes well for Albion,…for you and Arthur,"Merlin laughed shakily, "and for the land that you will build together."

Treading with glee upon the remains of the 'egg' Aithusa, with a guttural caw, spread his wings and stood tall on his hind legs. And, finally, he got to look upon the face of Merlin, _his_ Dragonlord.

* * *

**Phew. Well hope you enjoyed that. If so tell me what you think. If not...tell me what you think :P**

**I have other stories in the works, so hope you'll patiently wait for them if you want more. Cheers \(^_^)/**


End file.
